


Man's Best Friend Indeed

by ChemicalStardust



Series: It's Always Sunny In Smash [4]
Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Bonding, Dogs, Friendship, Gen, Isabelle Is Adorable, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:28:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17205092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChemicalStardust/pseuds/ChemicalStardust
Summary: Solid Snake has returned to the world of Super Smash Brothers, and many newcomers have joined alongside him in the ultimate battle. When he gets paired up with one of them, a dog secretary named Isabelle, he's not sure what to think. Snake has always been fond of dogs, but one like Isabelle? There's no way to describe it.





	Man's Best Friend Indeed

**Author's Note:**

> I kept seeing fan art of Snake and Isabelle so that naturally made me want to write a story about them. I thought about waiting a little while to upload this, mainly because I kept getting stuck in some places, however I recently got a dog so that helped give me some inspiration to keep writing. :)

Solid Snake’s return to the realm of Smash Brothers has been a rather interesting experience, and coming back after a ten year absence took some time to get used to. The Smashers who fought alongside him back in the days of Brawl were happy to see him return and welcomed him back to the mansion with open arms. Alongside him were fighters he fought with before that had not return in past tournaments either. The motto for this tournament wasn’t kidding when it said “Everyone is Here”, and truthfully he couldn’t have been more thankful.

The morning felt like any typical morning at the Smash Mansion, however everyone came off as more lively than usual. Just before breakfast, Master Hand had announced that today would be a “Team Day”, which takes two Smashers and pairs them up to fight alongside each other for the entire day. Team Days weren’t an uncommon event, they happened quite a lot in the past, however no one was expecting to have a Team Day so early in the current tournament. Master Hand was in charge of pairing the Smashers up with each other, and he made sure that no teammates would try to kill each other. 

Snake’s eyes shifted around the cafeteria as everyone was exchanging lists and greeting their partners for the day. The last time he took part in a Team Day was during Brawl, where he was paired up with King Dedede. The two did a good job fighting with each other, especially considering the fact that they were both newcomers, yet Snake couldn’t help but feel that the whole ordeal was an awkward situation. 

Taking a sip of his coffee, Snake watched as Simon Belmont sat down across from him, a laminated piece of paper in his hand. The two had been well acquainted in the past and were surprised to find out that they had joined Smash at the same time. They’ve spent some time catching up together, and every day they would sit at the same table in the cafeteria. 

“Is that the list of teams?” Snake asked as Simon began to read all of the names.

“Yes.” He began to look at the list closer. “I’m still not entirely sure what the difference is between this and fighting on our own.”

“This whole team match-ups have been a thing for a while now. No one’s ever really gotten an explanation for why we have them.” He leaned over the table to get a glance at the list. “Who did you get partnered up with?” 

“Let’s see here…” Simon’s eyes scanned across the list until he found his name. “It seems I’ve been paired up with Princess Daisy.”

Snake chuckled. “Didn’t she invite you to one of her and Peach’s tea parties last week?”

“Yes, and I had to decline because it was during the same time that I had a match. Perhaps she’ll ask me again.”

The mercenary shook his head, knowing that the vampire hunter would absolutely go if he had the chance. Simon handed him the list, and he began to look it over himself.

As Snake read through the array of names, he felt a hand slap him firmly on the shoulder. He looked up to see Samus in her zero suit, holding an apple.

“I couldn’t help but notice you two sitting here all alone.” She sat down, diagonal to the both of them. “Have you guys learned who your partners are for today?”

“Still trying to figure that out.” Snake went back to looking at the list.

Samus nodded, turning to the vampire hunter. “Simon, who’d you get?”

“I’ve been paired up with Princess Daisy.”

“Cool! Daisy’s a lot of fun to be around. I’m sure you two will do great. I got paired up with Little Mac, so I’m looking forward to it.” She turned back to Snake. “What does it say, Snake?”

Snake continued to read over the bracket with his own name, making sure it was correct. _Snake/Isabelle._

“It...it says I’m with Isabelle?”

Simon and Samus exchanged looks with each other, smiling as Snake stared aimlessly at the paper. Isabelle was another newcomer, and her inclusion in Smash has brought a lot of attention.

“Oh man, aren’t you a lucky one.”

Snake look up at the bounty hunter, who had taken a bite of her apple. “What do you mean by ‘lucky’?”

“Isabelle’s been the talk of the tournament,” Simon responded while Samus was still chewing. “I’ve heard she’s quite the fighter, despite not looking like one at all.”

“Hhnnn…” Snake turned his head as he scoped out the cafeteria again. “Is she in here?”

Samus swallowed, then helped look around along with Simon. She noticed Isabelle all the way across the cafeteria, then pointed her out to the other mercenary.

“There she is. Looks like she’s about to figure out the truth.”

The bounty hunter took another bite of the apple as the three of them watched Isabelle from afar. She was holding another list with the teams on it. Her face lit up after a few seconds, presumably because she figured out who her partner was, and began to look around. Once she caught sight of Snake, she began to make her way over to his table.

“Oh, here she comes!” Samus exclaimed after finishing another bite. “I wonder if she knows what to expect.”

“Has she been in a fight yet? It’s still pretty early in the tournament.” Snake placed the list down and put it in the middle of the table.

“Richter had a match against her a few days ago,” Simon answered. “Although she didn’t win, he said she put up quite the fight.”

The trio fell quiet as Isabelle came closer. Snake finished off his coffee as she walked right up to them, taking a seat next to him.

“Good morning, Mr. Snake!” She greeted in her usual cheery voice. “I guess you and I are partners today!”

Snake looked down at Isabelle, then back to Samus and Simon, who had the biggest grins on their faces. Was this some kind of a joke?

“I’m sorry,” Isabelle began, “This is my first time taking part in a Team Day, but I’m gonna bring everything I have! You’re stronger than me, but I think I can at least be of some assistance! That is what I do, after all.” She turned to look at Samus and Simon, who were still grinning. “Oh! Mr. Simon, Miss Samus, hi!”

They both greeted her as Snake continued to exchange glances between them. Isabelle then randomly pulled a pen and clipboard out of her pocket. Snake didn’t want to know how she managed to get the clipboard to fit. 

Finishing her apple, Samus threw the core into the closest trash can and stood up. “Well, my match is scheduled pretty early so I’m gonna go find Little Mac and see what his plan is. I wish you guys good luck with yours.”

Immediately after Samus walked away, Simon stood himself up from the table. “I better go too. I wanted to do some training before I met up with Daisy, so it's best if I leave now.” He looked at the both of them and grinned. 

Snake looked at him for a second before nodding while Isabelle smiled and waved. She turned back to Snake, who still didn’t know what to say.

“Well, Mr. Snake, our match isn’t until later in the day, so is there anything you’d like me to do for you in the meantime?”

Snake wasn’t sure how to respond. Although he had seen weirder, he still had a hard time understanding how this dog was talking to him and offering to help him out. He had taken care of plenty of dogs in the past, but in no way was he used to one taking care of him. Plus, the dogs he took care of were Huskies, and he was almost positive that Isabelle was supposed to be a Shih Tzu. 

“Can you give me a couple of minutes? I want to make a quick call.”

“Oh, of course! I can wait here for you, or…” her eyes shifted over to the empty mug sitting on the table. “Would you like me to get you more coffee?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Snake responded.

“Okay, no problem!” She reached over and picked it up. “I would assume all black?”

“Yeah, that’d be good.” Wow, she even got his coffee preference right.

“Alright, I’ll be right back with it.” She smiled and walked off, leaving Snake by himself.

The mercenary watched as Isabelle walked away with his mug, then pushed himself up from the table and made his way to the back door exiting the cafeteria. While outside, he made sure that no one was around him, and then turned on his codec.

 _“Snake!”_ A familiar voice greeted him on the call.

_“Otacon, what can you tell me about the talking dog?”_

_“Oh, you mean Isabelle?”_

_“Yeah.”_ Snake checked his surroundings again. _“What’s the deal with her?”_

 _“Well…”_ Otacon mentally prepared himself for his explanation. _“Isabelle comes from the same universe as Villager. They’re the mayor of a far off town, and Isabelle is their secretary.”_

_“Hnnn...so she’s like a politician or something?”_

_“Essentially, yes. In the past Villager would have to go out of town for certain periods of time, and they would leave Isabelle in charge while they were gone. She’s an extremely dedicated and hard worker, and often puts her job in front of everything else.”_

Snake was impressed by that fact, however he couldn’t help but wonder who was running the town if both her and Villager were at this tournament.

_“So what does she do if she gets a break?”_

_“Hard to determine since she’s almost always working. Her twin brother Digby runs the town’s Home Showcase, and she apparently has 19 engineering degrees, all from different universities.”_

_“19 engineering degrees?”_ So not only was she a politician, but an engineer as well. Where did she find the time to earn the same degree 19 times?

 _“Snake, are you in a match against Isabelle right now?”_ Otacon sounded concerned. 

_“No, I’m currently not fighting anyone. We got paired up together for this team activity program, and I’m not exactly sure how to feel about it.”_

_“But Snake, you love dogs! You get along with the Duck Hunt one perfectly fine!”_

_“Yeah, but I’m not used to dogs that can talk and earn multiple university degrees.”_

_“I’m not sure anyone is.”_ Otacon sighed. _“Listen, in battle she uses an array of tools to fight with. One of these includes a fishing rod, which can send her opponents flying.”_

 _“A fishing rod?”_ Snake was almost certain that Otacon was making this up. 

_“Yes, and it has a wide range as well. When you’re fighting with her, keep an eye out, and don’t hesitate to remind her about it. And Snake?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“Please make sure no one hurts her, she too pure and adorable to be harmed in any way.”_

Before Snake could respond to that last comment, Otacon ended the call. He sighed and shut the codec off before making his way back into the cafeteria.

When Snake returned back inside, the room had been almost emptied. He assumed everyone went to go train or find their partners, or both. Isabelle was still sitting at the table, and he sat down beside her once again.

“Oh, Mr. Snake, you’re back! How was your call?”

“It was alright. Same as usual, I suppose.” He didn’t want to say that the entire call was about her.

“That’s great to hear! I got you your coffee, and I made sure it keep it warm while you were gone.”

Snake reached over and picked up the mug. It was all black, just the way he asked for it, so Isabelle was clearly listening before. “Well, thanks.”

“Oh, it was no problem,” she said as she waved it off while Snake took a sip. “So, what would like to do in the meantime?”

Snake shrugged as he finished his current sip of coffee. “We should use whatever time we have to train and prepare ourselves for our match later.”

“Good idea! If we train together, we’ll be able to get a good sense of how the other fights. It’ll make it better in battle!”

Snake nodded. He wasn’t sure why she seemed so enthusiastic about getting beaten up, but she was almost always in a cheery mood. For all he knew, this could be child’s play to her.

“Let’s head out once you’ve finished your coffee, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he answered as he took another sip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Otacon wasn’t joking about Isabelle’s fishing rod. During their practice, Snake watched her chuck one of the Sandbags all the way across the training grounds at least 6 times. It baffled him that her use of things like a butterfly net and an umbrella could cause the same amount of damage as his C4s and RPG. 

Regardless, she did prove herself to be quite the fighter, and Snake realized that he was kind of glad to have her as a partner. She listened to his advice and even brought him a water bottle because she “thought he looked thirsty”. 

As their match grew closer, Snake and Isabelle checked the protocols on what kind of fight it would be. The rules were fairly straightforward; a 2 stock, no items match on Palutena’s Temple. Snake groaned learning that they had to fight on one of the bigger and more chaotic stages, but none of that mattered when he saw the team they were going up against: Ganondorf and Ridley.

“Why would anyone think to put those two on a team together?” Snake questioned as he showed the rules to Isabelle. Whenever any of the villains were put together, it always screamed trouble.

“Oh boy…” Isabelle sounded nervous. “We’re gonna fight them?”

“I guess so.” Snake thought for a second. “I’ve never fought the pterodactyl before. The last time I had a match with Ganondorf was during Brawl, and that was the tournament where he was the worst out of all of us.”

“I’ve heard he’s gotten better though. He has a sword that looks like it does a lot of damage.”

“Hnnnn…” Snake could tell Isabelle seemed a bit discouraged. Sighing, he carefully put his hand on her shoulder. “Just do what you’ve been doing with me. Don’t let them intimidate you; once they know you’re weaknesses they’ll immediately find a way to tear you down. Remember, I’ll be in there fighting as well.”

Isabelle looked at him for a second, then firmly nodded. “You’re right. I won’t let them hurt either of us. I’m tougher than I look, and I’m gonna prove that!”

Snake grinned at her determination. She definitely was one dedicated dog. “Good to hear. Now, let’s get back to training, alright?”

“Okay!” Isabelle smiled, doing what Snake suggested.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The match came faster than the two were expecting. As they made their way into the arena, Snake noticed that Isabelle was taking deep breaths.

“You ready?” He asked, looking slightly concerned.

“I am. I’m gonna take all that training and put it to good use.” Isabelle looked up at him. “Truthfully, as much as I would like to, I won’t be sad if we lose. I know you’re tough and all, yet I still wanna make sure you don’t get hurt. Ganondorf and Ridley aren’t nice at all.”

He nodded. There was a reason Ganondorf had his title as the Great King of Evil. Snake had never interacted with Ridley before, but after finding out all that he’s done to Samus, he had enough reasons to despise him.

The two placed themselves on the platform, and in a matter of seconds they were in the temple. Far across from the were Ganondorf and Ridley, who sneered at the sight of them.

Snake took a second to get a good look at Ganondorf. He looked much different from the Ganondorf that Snake fought against back in Brawl. His built was slimmer, and his face was more pointed. He was also wearing a different outfit and wielded a sword this time, just as Isabelle said.

The two teams prepared themselves as the countdown began. The second they heard “GO!”, they immediately began to fight, minding the gaps and any hazards that got in the way.

Ganondorf and Ridley showed that they were serious about this entire ordeal. As usual, they showed absolutely no mercy to either Snake or Isabelle, but the duo continued to go on. This was Smash, after all, and no one ever gave up that easily. 

It turns out that people were serious when they said Isabelle put up quite the fight. It was one thing for her to go against someone like Richter, however seeing her take down a creature Ridley’s size was practically unimaginable (even though it was happening right in front of Snake’s eyes). Their moves correlated with each other’s rather wonderfully, and Isabelle’s assistance wasn’t just limited to the office.

Due to the stage’s design, racking up damage was much more common. Snake lost a stock after being thrown around for two long, his body ricocheting off the ceiling and walls. Isabelle lost one after failing to recovery when Ganondorf knocked her down to a lower level. Normally it would be different if it wasn’t in it’s normal form, but this wasn’t the case right now. Snake wondered what Palutena was thinking when she designed this place.

By the end of the match, the two had enough. Ganondorf was already defeated, leaving only Ridley to take down. Snake had already gathered a large amount of damage. It seemed that everything he did would be outsmarted by the space pirate. He couldn’t help but feel some kind of anger build up inside of him whenever Ridley attacked Isabelle. Eventually, he knocked Snake down, and right when he felt it was all over for him, he heard his name. 

“Mr. Snake!” Isabelle called out, jumping right in front of him. Before Ridley could strike another attack, Isabelle pulled out her party popper, which immediately hit him. This was an instant KO, and Ridley was off the stage in a matter of seconds.

The match was set, and Isabelle couldn’t have looked more happy. She assisted Snake by helping him get up, asking if he was hurt in any way.

“I’m fine. The match is all over, so I’ll have time to recover.”

The secretary nodded eagerly. “We won! Even against two of the most ruthless fighters! We make a pretty good team, don’t you think?” 

Snake shook his head, grinning slightly. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

Isabelle lifted her paw up in hopes for a high five, which Snake graciously accepted. They exited the arena together and we greeted by a few other Smashers, who congratulated them on their win. Isabelle was especially happy to see Villager, and immediately ran up to them so she could give them a hug. 

As Snake watched Isabelle embrace her mayor, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ganondorf and Ridley were being escorted out of the arena by Bowser and King K. Rool. He tried to avoid eye contact with them, but he could have sworn they were glaring at him and Isabelle. He walked forward and stood next to her, just in case they were to try anything. 

After a few minutes, Isabelle let go of Villager and waved by to them as they walked off. As soon as she was done, she turned back to Snake, her eyes wide.

“So...what should we do now?”

“Hnn?” Snake spent the whole day training with her that he didn’t have anything else in mind. “Oh, well...there’s a few matches that still need to happen, we could watch those if you want.”

“Oh, good idea! It’d be fun to do so before dinner. I heard that Rosalina and Mega Man are going to be fighting Dark Pit and Falco next. If we go now we can get front row seats!”

Snake nodded. “Alright then. Lead the way, Isabelle.”

The secretary immediately headed off, Snake right behind her. As he trailed along, he thought to himself: Isabelle may not be like the dogs Snake’s encountered in the past, but she’s still great in her own way, and her talents definitely come in handy. Looks like he can now tell Otacon that Isabelle is perfectly fine where she is.


End file.
